Life saving flotation device



March 10, 1959 R. J. FRAEBEL ET AL 2,876,468

LIFE SAVING FLCTATION DEVICE Filed April 3. 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS. ROBERT .1. FRAEBEL a ELSIE K.IRRE

ATTORNEY March 10, 1959 R. J.IIFRA IEBEL ET AL j 2 87615468; LIFE SAVING FILOTATION DEVICE Filed April 3, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 lOa 1/! FIG. IO

// INVENTORS ROBERTJ. FRAEBEL 8| BY ELSIE K- IRRE ala/4 ATTORNEY March 10, 1959 R. R EBEL "ET; AL,

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' Filed April 3, 1956 iLi Q/ INVENTORS.

BERT J. FRAEBEL 8| ELSIE K. IRRE Z ATTORNEY.

' The lower snap '11 being less accessible for easy manipulation than the upper snap 11, preferably is positively held in fixed positionon the cell by a holding strap 11 extending through the hook portion of the snap and having its ends, on opposite sides of the snap, sewed to the anchor patch of the snap, as is shown with regard to the nearer of its ends in Fig. 4.

In the case of the wearer being towed in the water, by a wind-blown parachute or for rescue, face up or face down, and by the feet or by .the hands, or otherwise, it is desirable that there be provision against excessive backward'bending of his neck by the resistance of the water and against such shifting of the position of the buoyancy structure in relation to his body as would result in an undesirable or dangerous positioning of the center of buoyancy in relation to the center of gravity and/or the center of application of the pulling force.

Such provision is afforded by a neck strap 10*, Figs. 4, S and 6, having one of its ends anchored to the left cell at the same position as the anchorage of the snap 11 and engaged near its other end in an adjusting buckle 10 Fig. 4, secured to the base of a snap 1t) which is adapted to be engaged in a D-ring 10 which is interlinked with a looped-back and sewed anchorage end portion of the strap 10 The strap 1%, adapted to be passed around the neck and snapped to the D-ring after the cells have been inflated and their front ends connected, provides a direct connection from the back of the wearers neck to the top of the front portion of the buoyancy structure and thus performs the functions above indicated.

In case of the wearer inadvertently or otherwise inflating the cells before reaching the water and then hitting the water head first, the neck strap, if then quickly put in functioning relationship, prevents such deformation of the cells or displacement of their front lobes by impact with the water as would shift the center of buoyancy so far awayfrom his head as to be dangerous.

The right-hand pack container, for illustration as to both of them, is of box-like shape, comprising the bodycontacting, harness-anchoring base wall 211 above referred to; edge walls 11 11 11 11 Figs. 8, 9, 1 and 2, secured to the base wall by sewing and by rivets 11 11 and four generally triangular closure flaps 17, 18, 19 and 20 which are adapted to be held in their pack-closing positions by a heavy-cord loop member 21 mounted upon the innermost flap member 17, extending through holes in the three other flap members, and adapted to be releasably held in flap holding relationship by a pull cotter 22.

An inflating cylinder 23 has its mounting upon and is in communication with the cell at 24. A pull cord 25 from its control lever 26, and a pull cord 27 from the pull cotter 21, extend to and are connected to a single pull-knob 28, with more slack maintained in the cord 25 than in the cord 27, when the cell is in packed condition, by a tunnel-defining covering strip 29, Fig. 8, overlying the cords and have only parts of its margins sewed to the flap 20, so that the cords both extend downwardly and outwardly from the tunnel at a forward, lower, corner position where an outlet for the cord 25 is provided by absence of sewing of the cover strip 29 to the flap 20.

The cord 27 extends outward between the overlapped margins of the flap and the flap 19. Because of the reach 27 of .sewing of the strip 29 to the flap 20, even a straight downward pull of the knob 28 causes first the release of the flaps and then opening of the valve .of the inflating cylinder, so that inflation of the cell causes it to emerge from the pack andtake its rocker-like shape and its functioning position in relation .to the wearer.

Absence of sewing of the cover strip 29 to ,theflap 20 at the rear part of the lower margin permits a corner portion 29 of the cover strip to be turned back as in Fig. 8 to provide access for manipulation of the loop 21 and the cotter 22 in the packing of the cell.

For ease of retaining the collapsed and folded cell in proper position while the flaps are being closed and fastened in the packing operation, and for assuring the placing of the flaps in proper sequence, the flaps can be sewed to one another for a short distance from each corner of the pack, as at 18 19 20 Fig. 8.

The mode of operation and the advantages of the device are adequately brought out in the foregoing description.

In the embodiment above described the cells 10 and 11 have no connection of their rear lobes directly to each other (Fig. 6), but in some types of use they can be so connected. In Fig. 11, for example, the rear lobes are shown as being connected, at about their highest parts, by a fabric tie strip 30 having at its ends portions sewed to respective anchor patches 30 and 30* which are cemented to the respective cells.

Other modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A unitary life-saving flotation device comprising a harness for removably retaining said device on the body of a wearer, said harness including torso encircling means attachable to pass beneath the respective armpits of the wearer, a pair of pack containers supported respectively on opposite sides of said torso encircling means to position said pack containers beneath the respective armpits of the wearer, an inflatable buoyancy element releasably packed in each of said pack containers, each of said buoyancy elements when inflated having an elongated hollow arcuately curved shape, each buoyancy element being connected to its pack container generally mid-way of the length of said arcuately curved shape with the forward and rearward end portions of said elements extending upwardly respectively in front of and behind the shoulders of the wearer in the inflated state, said forward end portions of said buoyancy elements having cooperating wall sections engageable to form the adjoining wall sections of said buoyancy elements in a chin supporting buoyancy structure, and securing means on said forward end portions of said buoyancy elements for detachably retaining said wall sections in engagement.

2. A unitary life-saving flotation device as recited in claim 1 and further including a neck strap connectable to said chin supporting structure and adapted to extend about the neck of the wearer for holding said chin supporting structure adjacent the chin of the wearer.

3. A unitary life-saving flotation device as recited in claim 1 wherein each of said pack containers is formed of flexible sheet material having a body engaging base wall and a plurality of flaps connected to the margins of said base wall, a loop element mounted upon one of the flaps for extending through an aperture in at least one other of the flaps, and a pull-cotter insertable in a part of said loop element projecting beyond said aperture.

4. A unitary life-saving flotation device comprising a harness for removably retaining said device on the body of a wearer, said harness including a belt firmly engageable around the torso to pass beneath the respective armpits of the wearer and shoulder strap means connected to retain said belt in position on the wearer, a pair of elongated hollow arcuately curved inflatable buoyancy elements supported respectively on opposite sides of said belt, each of said buoyancy elements being connected to said belt generally mid-way of its length to dispose the mid-portions of said elements at positions adjacent the respective armpits of the wearer with the forward and rearward end portions of said elements extending freely upwardly from said belt respectively in front of and behind the shoulders of the wearer, said 5 forward end portions of said buoyancy elements having References Cited in the file of this patent cooperating wall sections engageable to form the adjoining wall sections of said buoyancy elements in a chin UNITED STATES PATENTS supporting buoyancy structure, and securing means on 1,667,414 Breninger Apr. 24, 1928 said forward end portions of said buoyancy elements for 5 2,774,979 Moran Dec. 25, 1956 detachably retaining said wall sections in engagement. 2,784,426 Boyle et al Mar. 12, 1957 

